Bill once had a dream. That dream was to hunt down and kill Billy Ray Cyrus. If these money grabbing dipshit hollywood producers go ahead and piss all over the memory of Bill Hicks then I say we leave Billy Ray alone and instead hunt down and kill Russell Crowe. Rumour has it he also sucks Satans cock .

Why does this film even need to be made? Surely Hicks' work is legacy enough without adding some shitty biopic that'll just focus on Hicks as the tortured soul rather than the genius social commentator. How do I know this? Cancer is funnier than Russell Crowe. This is a bad fucking idea and is clearly just some rushed out production line dramedy that's only being made so Crowe won't be scratching his balls 'til Spring. Do yourself a favor; ignore this and buy Hicks' One Night Stand DVD.

Why does this film even need to be made? Surely Hicks' work is legacy enough without adding some shitty biopic that'll just focus on Hicks as the tortured soul rather than the genius social commentator. How do I know this? Cancer is funnier than Russell Crowe. This is a bad fucking idea and is clearly just some rushed out production line dramedy that's only being made so Crowe won't be scratching his balls 'til Spring. Do yourself a favor; ignore this and buy his One Night Stand DVD.

I think anyone who's a fan of any great stand up (and I count myself as one; comedy coming second to film in "stuff I like to watch") would be more than a little apprehensive about this project. Regardless of Crowe's potential casting (and there are problems enough with that), I just don't see this working as a film. When you have a great, extremely distinctive comedian like Hicks, the whole point of his fame and stature is his performance. As was pointed out by Marwood above, Hicks made his name on stage more than through any off-stage antics, unlike, say, Lenny Bruce, also referred to above. Even Mitch Hedburg would strike me as a better subject - while his comedy mightn't have been as influential (still funny), there's more of a story there (I'm not suggesting that that would be a good idea either though, no no no). Stand-up comedy is such a finely tuned art that a representation of it will either be off the mark, or just become mere impersonation - where's the artistic merit in that? Just go watch/listen to actual Bill Hicks footage.

To me, a comedian's jokes are their own, to be told and performed in the manner they see best (except when I try, and fail, to tell them right myself!). Somehow I don't have the same problem with a musical biopic (aside from ones that are…well….crap), but I've always seen comedy as intrinsically different. A comedian is on stage and it's him/her alone with nothing but the words they've written and how they tell them. With music, there are more elements involved (lyrics, performance, instruments, arrangements, backing vocals, etc) so that it's still possible to portray the essence of the song and performance even if the actor isn't a spot on impersonation, and the showmanship of it all lends itself better to film interpretation. The truly great comedians are great for a reason - there's that one performance where they completely nailed it. Crowe might feel he can develop an interesting story about Hicks, but what makes the story worth telling is his comedic performance and what he had to say on stage; and there's only one man who can do Hicks - Hicks.

(although Doug Stanhope is very good - go see him while he's in the area over the next few weeks!)

As for Crowe, I agree that he is too old. A part of what makes Hicks interesting is how young he started out. Crowe would be hard pushed to play the later years (being 12 years older now than Hicks when he died) let alone any of the earlier stuff. I checked the original source of the story in the Sydney Morning Herald, and it does sounds far from definite. It seems to be a project in development of Crowe's, early draft script stages and he's only a possible for the part. Nothing against Crowe, but I do hope this is one that doesn't come to pass.

For all the ways that this could be awful, there's reasons it could be great. Crowe, when on form, can be astounding (The Insider, LA Confidential & Master And Commander proved this....)

But he's a bit of a wally, got a temper problem and made A Beautiful Mind. And A Good Year.

And the script couldn't put a foot wrong or hoards of slavering Hicks fans would be on the warpath.

But I don't agree with whoever said that Hick's life isn't film worthy material. He started doing stand up when he was too young to be in the comedy clubs that booked him. Age 12, he owned the local comedy circuit.

He battled alcoholism, lost years of his life to drugs, had premonitions of his own death and made what is still the most formidable contribution to stand up comedy imaginable.

His story has an arc, and with the right framing, a' la Lenny, it could be a celebration of the mans work, life and message, and if there's a slight chance they could get it right, every Hicks fan in the world should be ecstatic. It's a chance to get his comedy appreciated on a previously unheard of level.

and thats a Good Thing.

But it's a tight-rope alright, and I don't envy the task ahead of the film-makers. This is not a project you want to go near fucking up.

And to whoever said Cusack earlier, instead of Crowe: YES. I've wished for that casting for years. He'd need to go method, put some weight on and make sure it was a film he gave a shit about, but that would be my call as the man to play Bill.

For all the ways that this could be awful, there's reasons it could be great. Crowe, when on form, can be astounding (The Insider, LA Confidential & Master And Commander proved this....)

But he's a bit of a wally, got a temper problem and made A Beautiful Mind. And A Good Year.

And the script couldn't put a foot wrong or hoards of slavering Hicks fans would be on the warpath.

But I don't agree with whoever said that Hick's life isn't film worthy material. He started doing stand up when he was too young to be in the comedy clubs that booked him. Age 12, he owned the local comedy circuit.

He battled alcoholism, lost years of his life to drugs, had premonitions of his own death and made what is still the most formidable contribution to stand up comedy imaginable.

His story has an arc, and with the right framing, a' la Lenny, it could be a celebration of the mans work, life and message, and if there's a slight chance they could get it right, every Hicks fan in the world should be ecstatic. It's a chance to get his comedy appreciated on a previously unheard of level.

and thats a Good Thing.

But it's a tight-rope alright, and I don't envy the task ahead of the film-makers. This is not a project you want to go near fucking up.

And to whoever said Cusack earlier, instead of Crowe: YES. I've wished for that casting for years. He'd need to go method, put some weight on and make sure it was a film he gave a shit about, but that would be my call as the man to play Bill.

Like many have commented before, this iconic legend shouldn't have a cash-in on his life story. Then again, the authors of his autobios are not very different from the people behind this production. It would be interesting to see the story come to life on the big screen, but I'll feel a tight grip of guilt while I'm watching. Knowing that the money I paid is going towards the kind of people that Bill stood against. I'll feel a little better if it's a low budget movie, and a percentage of the profits goes to the Pancreatic cancer charities.

Hicks was one of the last true anti-establishment American heros, and now his memory will be sullied a la Jonny Cash. A whole generation of kids will not be able to discover him on their own, when they are ready.

Yes, get it. He's certainly been prepping for the role for quite some time....

I watched one of those "top 50 stand up comedians" programmes and Jimmy Carr was on saying how the accusations of Leary ripping off Hicks were unjustified. It then proceeded to show the Jim Fixx skit by both of them! Hopefully egg was all over Carr's face.

Yes, get it. He's certainly been prepping for the role for quite some time....

I watched one of those "top 50 stand up comedians" programmes and Jimmy Carr was on saying how the accusations of Leary ripping off Hicks were unjustified. It then proceeded to show the Jim Fixx skit by both of them! Hopefully egg was all over Carr's face.

Really not enthralled by this at all.I agree with the poster who said that IF the film does have to be made, Jason Bateman would be much more appropriate.Although Crowe might surprise, he's too old, the likeness isn't that similar (I have Aenema before anyone points me to that) and hasn't really had much experience with comedy. He may surprise, he may not.Anyway, as for the film itself, it could work but only if the studios don't pull a Letterman and ask for any references to 'Pepsi Cola' and the like to be extracted.

I like many was a bit caught of guard with this story (physical stature preventing my first pick of Paul Giamatti being a feasible option). But do you remember the last time we were all shitting over a decision to cast an aussie in an iconic role? We all know how that turned out...Crowe is a good actor...good enough to play Hicks? We may never find out, but I am curious...

I like many was a bit caught of guard with this story (physical stature preventing my first pick of Paul Giamatti being a feasible option). But do you remember the last time we were all shitting over a decision to cast an aussie in an iconic role? We all know how that turned out...Crowe is a good actor...good enough to play Hicks? We may never find out, but I am curious...

Point taken. But playing The Joker is one thing, Bill Hicks is quite another.

absolutely couldnt agree more...I just like the idea of film creators being brave and making courageous decisions that might raise eyebrows, but actually have more substance than people will grant...I like the other guys (sorry, lost your name) point about how people discover Bill Hicks. I want everyone to watch this man cause I think he is incredible, but similarly I remember how I was introduced to Bill Hicks, and hope others might take a chance on something that at first might not seem worthy of attention, but you wont really know until you try it...